A new bill filed in the Texas Senate would prohibit physicians and healthcare providers from referring gender-confused children out of state for mutilation surgeries.
Senate Bill 753 by State Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) would amend the Health and Safety Code to prohibit the facilitation of gender mutilation procedures for minors and add a criminal penalty for those who violate the law.
“I filed SB 753 to make it a crime for healthcare providers to facilitate or refer a child to a healthcare provider in another state for gender modification. Texas will continue to take a strong stand against the heinous practice of child gender mutilation and child abuse. This common sense bill protects Texas kids,” Middleton told Texas Scorecard.
Under the current law, physicians and healthcare providers are already not allowed to perform sterilizing surgeries like castration, phalloplasty, and vaginoplasty on children. Healthcare providers are also prohibited from providing, prescribing, administering, and dispensing cross-sex hormones that would stop or delay puberty.
Now, Middleton’s legislation would also disallow physicians from referring children to a different healthcare practitioner out of the state to “facilitate the child’s ability to receive in the other state a procedure or treatment that would otherwise be prohibited” if the procedure were performed in Texas.
If a physician or healthcare provider knowingly violates the law, it would be a third-degree felony offense, which is punishable by two to ten years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Exceptions for the offense include medically necessary procedures that are not related to gender transitioning.
Middleton said that Texas needs to continue to take a strong stand against child mutilation.
“Child gender modification is child abuse and child mutilation, period. I was proud to support SB 14 by Senator Campbell and Representative Oliverson last session, banning this practice in Texas,” said Middleton. “Recently, I have become aware of doctors writing prescriptions to send children to other states for gender mutilation. This cannot be allowed to stand.”
The 89th Legislative Session begins January 14.
